Peter Cunningham
Rev. Peter Cunningham (died July 1805) was an English poet and cleric. Life Cunningham was the son of a naval officer. He was privately educated. He was ordained by Dr. Drummond, archbishop of York, without a university education, in 1772. He first served the curacy of Almondbury, near Huddersfield, where he was favourably noticed by Lord Dartmouth.Stephens, 316. In 1775 he became curate to the Rev. T. Seward (father of Anna Seward), at Eyam, near the Peak. He became very popular there, and is frequently mentioned in Anna Seward's correspondence. While at Eyam he published two poems, ‘Britannia's Naval Triumph’ and the ‘Russian Prophecy.’ These poems are not in the British Museum Library, but the first of them is noticed in the ‘Gentleman's Magazine,’ lv. 212. At Eyam, he was responsible for bringing poet William Newton, the "Peak Minstrel", to the attention of Anna Seward.Re. Peter Cunningham (1750 ca.-1805), English Poetry, 1579-1830, Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Web, May 25, 2016. When he left Eyam is not certain, possibly not till Mr. Seward's death in 1790. In a letter to the Rev. T. Wilson in 1788,published in Mr. Raine's Memoirs and Correspondence of Rev. T. Wilson he says that he has become reconciled to obscurity, and had refused Lord Rodney's offer of an introduction to the Duke of Rutland, then lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and also the chaplaincy at Smyrna. He may possibly have left Eyam in 1788 for Chertsey, his last curacy, for in 1789 he published a poem, "Leith Hill", in imitation of Denham's "Cooper's Hill", which shows an intimate acquaintance with the neighbourhood. In 1800 he published his best known descriptive poem, "St. Anne's Hill" at Chertsey. In July 1805 he died suddenly at the annual dinner of the Chertsey Friendly Society, to which he had been in the habit of preaching a sermon every year. Publications *''The Naval Triumph: A poem. 1783. *''Chatsworth; or, The genius of England's prophecy: A poem. Chesterfield, UK: privately published, 1783. *''The Russian Prophecy: A poem''. Sheffield, UK: privately published, printed by Gales & Martin, 1785. *''Leith Hill: A poem''. London: T. Hookham, 1789. *''The Naval Triumph of Britannia; or, Republican pride humbled: A poem : occasioned by Admiral Lord Nelson's glorius victory over the French fleet''. London: privately published, printed by W. Lane at Minerva Press, 1799. *''St. Anne's Hill. A poem''. London: J. Debrett / R. Wetton, 1800. Non-fiction *''A Sermon, Preached ... in Sheffield, on Sunday, May 9, 1784: For the benefit of the charity school''. Sheffield, UK: W. Ward, for the charity, 1784. *''A Sermon Preached at Eyam, Derbyshire, on Thursday the 23d of April, 1789: Being the day appointed for a general thanksgiving for His Majesty's happy recovery''. Sheffield, UK: J. Gayles, 1789. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au;Peter Cunningham 1805, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, May 25 2016. See also *List of British poets References . Wikisource, Web, May 25, 2016. Notes External links ;About *Rev. Peter Cunningham (1750 ca.-1805) at English Poetry, 1579-1830 Cunningham, Peter (d.1805) Category:1805 deaths Category:18th-century poets Category:English poets Category:English clergy Category:English-language poets Category:Poets